Remington M700 BDL .243WIN AI
Out-performing the .308 on all the critical points— it’s a sub 3/8-MOA sureshot!
No one, me least of all, questions that some form of bolt-action chambered for the .308 is the status quo in tactical precision rifles. The combination is balanced; recoil is tolerable for the sustained shooting sessions needed to zero, calibrate and train, and accuracy is excellent. Yet, as theoretically attractive as the combination might be, the true capabilities of the .308 are somewhat less than many assume and are not as spectacular as some make it to be.
While unquestionably accurate with the right load, it’s no more or less accurate than several dozen other centerfire rifle cartridges with properly developed loads, nor does it produce any more or less recoil. With the heavy (168- to 175-grain BTHP) target bullets almost always selected for the military and police tactical precision missions for which it is typically used, its terminal ballistics on living targets and penetration of intermediary objects (glass, vegetation, automobile bodywork, etc) is marginal.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
The 243 AI and regular 243 can out preform the 308 because it’s taking a smaller bullet and pushing it at a much faster speed with a much higher B.C. For example: 243 Win 115 DTAC at 3150 fps can put out a B.C. of .585 compared to a 308 the only way it can come close is to push 190 or higher grain bullets. Otherwise the 243 AI will outpreform the 308
August 22nd, 2008 at 6:20 am
Just finished reading this article since magazines are passed along and in Afghanistan they take a long time ro arrive.
Liked the article but I feel that there are too many apples to oranges comparisons.
Having shot the M14 in competition for some 18 years, Distinguished 1986, I know first hand what is the capability of the M14, 7,62mm, aka .308Win. I have fired this weapon at ranges of 100 to 1000 yards with 155Palma thru 190gr Sierra MKHP. In the hands of a skilled marksmen which is who this article represents the comparison of .308 to .243 is moot to between 500 & 600 yards, after 600 the .308 is far superior all the way to 1000 and beyond. At ranges used by police 50 to 200 yards the penetration and less deflection of the .308 is far superior to the .243 when using the “Correct” bullet in the .308.
The statements concerning the 168 being used in sniping operations is incorrect since any sniper knows that glass, twigs etc. will cause the thin metal of the 168 to destroy itself, which is what the bullet was designed to do by Sierra. It is a competition bullet not a hunting bullet, not a sniping bullet. The standard 173 match FMJ, “Special Ball” would have been more of a comparison for the .243 bullet and would have blown the .243 out of the water. In 18 years I have shot 10,000+ of this round in competition.
When it comes down to action, the shooter should know what conditions prevail, the beyond target conditions and this should dictate what caliber and bullet should be used to eliminate the threat.
Thank you
MAJ Charles Johnson, USA
Distinguished Marksmen
August 18th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I wanted to know what company was used to make the rifle as well as the AI cartridges for this article- I am interested in building a similar rifle. Thank you.
April 3rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
First of all i would to i say i enjoy your magazine i pick when i get the chance. I was reading the latest issue when i came upon the article Remington m700 bdl.243 AI i was shocked at what the author wrote. the .243AI is a fine cartridge for varmints and small game i would not consider it a sniper round. on page 76 he has pictures. the first picture shows black hills 168grn bthp match. the caption says
“with a load 48gr of Hodgdon’s H414 powder and hornady’s 75gr v-max bullet,superb accuracy like this is typical” now i would like to know what he is smoking because it must be good.
he goes on to belittle the .308 by saying the it will not penetrate a juniper bush at 100 meters or 110 yards. and to say that the .308 would only scratch the paint on t-1 armor plate at 100 meters is ludacris the guy should be writing for a hunting magazine instead of a tactical one. And further in the article he writes
“in the case of the student with the .243WIN AI rig,her {that’s right, her}target proved to be right at 650 meters from the placeshe chose to build her hide and make the shot.Afterward I was so impressed that i stopped the exercise for a few minutes, stood by her downed silhouette,had her stand up and then used a military laser rangefinder to determine the distance. It was a fine shot, but there is more.the silhouette was placed behind a three foot high, 15 inch juniper bush that completely obscured it.Yet she didn’t just hit , but made a nearly perfectly centered headshot on it through the bush”
now if it was COMPLETELY OBSCURED how did she see the silhouette let alone take the shot and how did he use the laer rangefineder. to say that .243AI is better than the .308 is stupid.
February 25th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
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